Boston Bombing Suspect Formally Charged

Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been indicted by a federal grand jury. Tsarnaev’s 30 charges include four charges of murder and the use of a weapon of mass destruction.

The announcement came from the US attorney’s office, reports CNN, on Thursday.

The murder charges leveled against the 19-year-old Boston bombing suspect include the three victims who died immediately in the blasts.

The fourth murder charge follows after Dzhokar and his brother, Tamerlan, shot and killed a policeman while attempting to avoid capture.

The Boston bombing attacks shocked the nation as broken glass and blood covered the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15 earlier this year.

The suspect, Dzhokar Tsarnaev, and his older brother, Tamerlan, were believed to behind the incident, having constructed deadly bomb-like devices out of pressure cookers, gun powder, and metal pieces.

Quick law enforcement work lead police to the Tsarnaevs’ door. This lead to a dramatic and prolonged pursuit and gunfight between the suspects and police, as the older brother, Tamerlan, was shot and killed.

After being rejected for burial from a number of graveyards and cemeteries, Tamerlan’s remains were finally laid to rest in a rural Virgina plot.

Dzhokar was shot as well, with a major injury limiting his ability to communicate for several days. He is recovering, however, and will stand trial.

Both brothers are from a family of Chechen Russians who had moved to the US and acquired citizenship.

With the Boston bombing suspect being indicted, federal prosecutors are saying at least 17 of the charges facing Dzhokar Tsarnaev could result in life in prison and possibly even the death penalty.

[Image via Marcio Jose Bastos Silva / Shutterstock.com]